I highly doubt Biden has that capability at this late point. The administration’s leverage was its ability to prevent the funds from being unfrozen in South Korea and transferred to Qatar. Not only did Biden sign a formal waiver to let that transfer happen; Iran then performed its end of the sordid bargain by releasing hostages — so close in time to the release of the funds that it was sure to highlight for the world that if you take Americans hostage, as Hamas has now done, the Americans will pay billions. With the ransom already paid by transfer to Iran’s ally Qatar, and the hostages already released, what legal mechanism does the administration have to compel Qatar to return the funds to U.S. control, such that they could be frozen, redirected, and otherwise kept out of Tehran’s coffers?
I am betting there is no such mechanism.
[Perhaps, but if that’s the case, why not let Senate Democrats know that? It would avoid what happened yesterday when Jon Tester and Joe Manchin joined Republicans in demanding that Biden re-freeze those funds. — Ed]
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